It’s been an eventful year. In the midst of a global pandemic and racial uprisings, our work was needed more than ever and we saw environmental organizations leverage our expertise to increase their readiness to address this historic moment in social and environmental justice work. On May 31st, Paco Ollervides is stepping down as Executive Director. As the first executive leader of Green Leadership Trust, Paco led our organization through a critical period of growth and added tremendous talent, grace, and leadership. We are grateful for the work he’s done on behalf of our organization. As a board member of the Ohio Environmental Council, Paco will continue to be an active part of our amazing network of environmental leaders and will transition to an advisory capacity. We have a transition plan to ensure continuity in our programs, recruitment efforts, and activities. The Steering Committee has chosen Tamara Toles O’Laughlin as our senior advisor to transitioning. Tamara is a long time member, Co-chair and Steering Committee member. She will take up this role on a limited basis to ensure our work continues through the end of the year. Specifically, she will oversee the executive search for our new executive director and our planned programming. She may be reached via email at: executivedirector@greenleadershiptrust.org. The Raben team will continue supporting us and they are led by Karen Driscoll, Vice President of Programs (kdriscoll@rabengroup.com). Our programs for the remainder of the year are clear. These include:· Launching our Vanguard Fellowship program to support and equip the next generation of board members of color to lead on equity and justice;· Supporting our growing membership and continuing board recruitment to sustain our momentum to build power for the movement;· Adopting a new strategic plan to guide our work over the next 3 years once the executive search concludes;· Solidifying the governance structure of GLT as our staff capacity grows. We will launch a search for our next Executive Director by June 1st. We invite you to help spread the word to find the best candidate to help GLT build power for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in the environmental movement.Your continued support will remain as critical as ever. Sincerely,Green Leadership Trust Steering Committee